We were also excited to introduce our speaker for this workshop, wellness creator, Miranda Popen. Miranda is a Tier 3 trainer at Equinox and was a professional figure skater who rode the diet roller coaster hoping to get that “perfect body”. She is passionate about helping women discover how they feel internally and how they move externally through nutrition, fitness, lifestyle and self care.

Our workout was then lead by Jennifer Lau from Fit Squad, a personal training and small group fitness training company located in downtown Toronto. Fit Squad is committed to delivering result-based training by bringing an unparalleled experience through a leading-edge methodology and exceptional coaching.

There's a new wave of weightlifting underway–and this time around, it includes women. What was once mostly reserved as a workout for men, has now made its way into the general health and wellness scene, with women in particular taking up an interest in strength-training to supplement their exercise routines. Even though weightlifting is recommended as integral to any adult's daily workout routine, women have rarely been pegged as weightlifters. Now, with a more mind-body approach, weightlifting is back on the radar for wellness enthusiasts everywhere. As women living in today's society, the pressure to live up to an unattainable standard of beauty has never been more intense. Our culture conditions us to strive for a fictionally perfect aesthetic, encouraging women to go on cruel diets and undertake gruelling workouts, fooling us into believing our healthy, capable bodies will never be enough.

We were also thankful to have Jake from Mid-Day Squares talk to us about their Montreal founded, raw superfood squares!

Sistering is a multi-service agency for at-risk, socially isolated women in Toronto who are homeless or precariously housed. Serving the commodity for over 35 years, validating women’s experiences regardless of outcomes. These marginalized women come from diverse backgrounds and include: women with substance use and mental health issues; women who have experienced, or are experiencing trauma and violence; immigrant and refugee women; women with disabilities and women without legal status.

Sistering creates a safe, welcoming and non-judgmental space for women. They are guided by principles of feminism, anti-racism and anti-oppression. Sistering offers practical and emotional support to women who experience social isolation, homelessness or precarious housing, trauma and violence, discrimination, substance use, or need mental health support. Their equitable programs and services enable women to take greater control over their lives. Sistering works in collaboration with others in the community to change the social conditions that endanger women’s welfare.

Our speaker Michal Kay was the 2017 Campaign Director for Jagmeet Singh’s successful NDP Leadership Campaign. She was one of Chatelaine's Top Women in Canada of 2017. Michal currently sits on the Board of the Broadbent Institute, The Urban Worker Project, and the Toronto Environmental Alliance.

She served as Chief of Staff to Toronto City Councillor Mike Layton and in 2014 she was Field Director for Olivia Chow's Toronto Mayoral Campaign.

Through her work and activism, Michal has had leading roles on a number of issue based and electoral campaigns at the municipal, provincial and federal levels across Canada.

Our workout was lead by Fit Squad, a personal training and small group fitness training company located in downtown Toronto.

Fit Squad is committed to delivering result-based training by bringing an unparalleled experience through a leading-edge methodology and exceptional coaching. The culture they have built is that of always pushing personal limits and driving forward, both inside and outside the gym. They see the gym as the ultimate training ground for life and an opportunity to evolve who we are every single day.